Tuesday, June 2, 2009

William Duckworth


William Duckworth (born 1943) is an American composer who also is an author, educator and Internet pioneer. He has written more than 200 pieces of music and is credited with the composition of the first postminimal piece of music, The Time Curve Preludes (1977-1978), for piano. His other notable compositions include Thirty-One Days (1987), for alto saxophone, and Southern Harmony (1980-1981), a choral work which uses certain features of shape note singing. Duckworth is a Professor of Music at Bucknell University. Nora Farrell, his wife, runs Monroe Street Music, which publishes many of his pieces. In recent years, Duckworth has concentrated on releasing music at his Cathedral Web site and has shifted much of his attention from music composed for traditional acoustic instruments to electronic music which utilizes world music influences and invites active participation from the listener. He obtained a bachelor's degree in music from East Carolina University, then master's and doctorates in music education from the University of Illinois at Urbana. He studied composition under composer Ben Johnston and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the notation of composer John Cage.

Two of my most valued books were written by this guy. I wondered what his music was like a few years ago when I first read them but never actually heard it until recently. His music is excellent and his ideas are awesome.
Check him out yourself www.billduckworth.com

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